Wireless Wednesday–Apps!

This week for “Wireless Wednesday” we’re talking about apps! Today @FierceWireless came out with their 2012 “Mobile App Holiday Must-Haves.” What makes this article better than most best app roundups? This one has broken down the apps into 10 categories. They are Food & Drink, Games, Lifestyle, Music, News, Photo & Video, Productivity, Social Networking, Travel, and Weather. We decided to feature our favorite app from each category in the excerpts below. This week we will focus on the first 5 topics, and next week we will look at the last 5. To see all of the apps that were included, click here.

Food & Drink

Food Network on the Road(Developed by Food Network)Available for: iOSReleased: August Price: Free
Food Network on the Road is a mobile-optimized travel guide to the five-star restaurants, greasy spoons, bakeries and food trucks featured on the cable channel’s marquee programs like Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives, Cupcake Wars and Giada’s Weekend Getaways. Viewers search for featured restaurants by city, chef, cuisine type or program title–whether you’re looking for a specific spot that once made your mouth water or just seeking out recommended dining wherever your travels lead, the app can feed your hunger, complete with address, phone number and driving directions for each restaurant. Users also can save places they want to visit (or visit again), create road trips based around restaurant wishlists, recommend spots to friends, and earn Food Network badges upon arriving at their dining destination.

Games

Punch Quest(Developed by Rocketcat Games) Available for: iOS Release: October Price: 99 cents
If your initial response to Punch Quest is something along the lines of “That is an awesome title for a game,” then this old-school, arcade-style platformer is unquestionably for you. Rest assured that the game doesn’t skimp on the punching or the questing: Your hero rushes headlong through a monster-packed dungeon, throwing haymakers at everything in sight–ogres, zombies, priceless pottery, whatever. Along the way you can unlock special skills and “supermoves,” ride a dinosaur that shoots lasers from its mouth, don stylish hats and destroy a supernatural egg that transforms you into a magical gnome. And if you think that last sentence is over-the-top, just wait until you play the game.

Lifestyle

WeottaGo
(Developed by Weotta)
Available for: iOS
Release: May
Price: Free
If you live in the moment, then don’t let another second go by without downloading WeottaGo, which makes recommendations based on the user’s whereabouts but also takes into account the current time and weather conditions, as well as corresponding merchant and event factors like hours of business, restaurant seating availability and movie showtimes. Filters include category, popularity, mood and distance, and suggestions evolve as the day progresses, changing in relation to what’s happening now and what’s happening next to guarantee there’s always something to do. WeottaGo also offers comprehensive details on the venues and events in question. And the more you use the app, the better it understands your likes and dislikes, making it even easier to plan an afternoon coffee break or a night on the town.

Music

Timbre (Developed by Intrepid Pursuits)Available for: iOS Release: September Price: Free
If live music is essential to your existence, then Timbre is a must-have on par with earplugs and comfortable shoes. More than just a location-targeted interactive concert calendar, it’s a conduit for connecting bands with potential new fans. Timbre determines your whereabouts and shows you all the performers playing your area–click an artist’s name and the app dials up a clip of their most popular iTunes track and corresponding link to the storefront, as well as venue information, ticketing options and Facebook and Twitter sharing. If you’re on the fence, you can listen to additional songs from the group’s catalog or swipe the screen to see what other shows might float your boat instead.

News

Pocket(Developed by Idea Shower) Available for: iOS, Android Release: 2007 Price: Free
Previously known as Read It Later, Pocket enables users to store news articles, video clips and webpages for future access. Content may be cherrypicked directly from the browser or saved from any of more than 300 other apps like Twitter, Flipboard, Pulse, and Zite; once something is in Pocket, you can read or view it anywhere and anytime, regardless of whether your device is connected to the Internet. A bevy of content management, sharing and filtering tools further improve the experience, helping explain why Pocket users save a million magazine articles, YouTube videos, recipes and wishlist items every day.

There you have it folks! Make sure and check back next week for the other 5 “must have” apps of 2012! What are your favorite apps? Did any make the list? Let us know in the comments section below, or on our Facebook/Twitter.

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